A Safe Place
by steph2009
Summary: When Raven is insulted, Starfire takes it upon herself to defend her.


**A Safe Place**

 **Summary:** When Raven gets insulted, Starfire takes it upon herself to defend her.

(This idea came to me while watching Troq again. I started thinking that all of them had probably been discriminated against at some point in their lives. I mean Cyborg isn't the only one of them who knows what it's like to be different. In all honesty, any one of the Titans could have related to Starfire's plight in Troq. So, this story was born.)

It had started out as a normal "girl bonding" moment outside the Tower—a simple trip to the mall; but once they had arrived at the mall, all normalcy-at least for Starfire-flew out the window. The redheaded alien had disappeared into yet another clothing store, leaving Raven to wait outside. (There was no way she was going to be caught in a store with that much pink coating the walls). It was as she waited that she was recognized. Despite being dressed in civilian clothes, her grey complexion and gem identified her immediately as Raven. Adults weren't as excited by her presence as much as the children were. This was proven by two fraternal twins who instantly rushed up to her. They smiled wide, toothy smiles and bounced up and down as they talked:

"You're Raven!" The girl cried, seeming not to need any gratification in her statement. It was clear that was who she was. She smiled indulgently at the child and went down to one knee so that the height difference between them would put a crick in the children's necks.

"You're so cool!" The boy echoed his sister's elated feeling. Though she gave no outward sign of her happiness, she certainly felt it. Fans very rarely approached her; even though they admired her, respected her even, they avoided her. Their instincts screamed that she was different, so they shied away. She was pleased that these children seemed to ignore their instincts and focused only on their hearts. It was endearing…and grudgingly reminded her of her green skinned teammate.

"How'd you get that gem in your forehead?" The girl asked curiously, reaching up gently and poking the red gem in the middle of Raven's forehead. Raven registered the mother's horrified gasp of "Evelyn!" but she paid the horrified mother no mind. She simply opened her mouth to explain just how she had come across it when the boy interrupted enthusiastically-

"Oh my god! Did it hurt?!" He sounded so concerned that it made Raven's heart melt just a little.

"No. It didn't hurt. You see, I was born with it." That was a lie, but she couldn't very well tell the children that her adopted father had placed it on her forehead when she was five to help her center her erratic thoughts.

"Cool!" Both twins breathed, exchanging wide smiles. Raven chuckled.

"Children!" Came a sharp, stern voice. Raven swung her head around to see an old man marching toward them. "Back away from _that beast_ right now!" The children already spooked by the old man's bark seemed to recoil forcefully at the statement. The little boy opened his mouth; Raven could tell by his emotions that he was ready to defend his hero. Anger sparked in both children's eyes. She laid a hand on each shoulder and smiled in what she hoped was a reassuring way.

"Go back to your mother," she commanded softly, not wanting the children to hear the words she knew this man was about to sling. She had become well used to this behavior over the years. After all, she was a half-demon. That was significantly harder to get over for some people than say a half-human, half-robot man or a girl with orange skin. She only hoped that the man would wait until the children were far enough away. Thankfully, he did. She was unaware of the other listener however, standing just in the entrance of the ridiculously pink store.

"Vile monster! _How dare you_ invade this place!" He ranted, stepping closer to her. Raven simply quirked an eyebrow at the man. _'Really? That's the best you could do?'_ Both her expression and her stance screamed it. Her adopted father's advisor had treated her worse. This was almost like a compliment compared to the things that man had called her. "I would take it upon myself to banish you if I thought you were worth the effort such an act expended. Parading about pretending to be a hero, no, you aren't worth the effort it would take to make an expression."

"Then why are you still here?" Raven drawled. She was unaware of the green rays of light that were sparking from behind the man. Starfire had been shocked still by the "vile monster" comment, but rage soon replaced shock as she processed the rest of the man's words. She shook with righteous fury as she listened to the man further berate her friend, calling her worthless. Her powers reacted to her rage. Her eyes flashed green and her hands glowed brightly.

Raven suppressed a smirk as the man stuttered in his rage, but her amusement faltered with the man struck her violently across the face. Slowly, she turned her face back toward the man, resolving herself not to react to him. If she did, she would only be giving him what he wanted. Validation. Her eyes were like icy stones when she looked back toward him. A green disk slammed into the man's side, causing him to fly back a few feet. As soon as he caught up, he was quick to accuse Raven.

"You all saw the demon strike out at me!" He declared, pointing a narrow finger toward Raven.

"No. She. Did. Not!" Starfire snarled. Raven blinked, unused to having someone defend her. She stared uncomprehendingly as the beautiful redhead ascending on the man. "You vile, vile old crim'lax!" Raven wasn't certain what that insult meant, but it was clear that Starfire was pissed. The man cowered as he seemingly realized his error. " _You_ are the very kind of man I hate the most!" Starfire pulled her hand back and struck the old man so hard across the face that he hit the floor again. The sight spurred Raven into movement. While she understood Starfire's anger and was touched by her need to defend her, she could only imagine how badly this would reflect on the Titans in the media. After all, Starfire—a wickedly strong alien—pounding a defenseless man into the tile would be enough to make front page news. Black film wrapped around Starfire (as well as Starfire's dropping purchases) as Raven teleported them both into the main room of the Tower. Their sudden appearance startled Robin; he opened his mouth ready to greet them, but took one look at his girlfriend's face and immediately became concerned.

For a moment, Starfire was confused. The sudden engulfment of black had made her worry that she had somehow lost her sight due to her anger; her confusion dimmed as she realized that Raven had merely transported them away. Her rage was abruptly redirected. Starfire spun on her.

"How often does that…that…" Starfire couldn't seem to find a word satisfying enough to describe it, so she could settled with hissing, "That disgusting display happen?" Raven furrowed her brows. Starfire's explosion had prompted Beast Boy and Cyborg to stop playing their Gamestation. Now all three boys had their eyes fixed on the two girls. Curiosity came off of them in waves. Raven settled with honesty.

"That was the first time in over a year."

" _X'hal!_ " Her speech dissolved into what Raven could only assume was Tamarian curses. After a few minutes, Starfire seemed to calm down enough to speak in English. "Over a…over a…" Raven leaned back at the enraged look on Starfire's face. "And you didn't think to come to any of us about it?!"

"I didn't think it matt-"

"Do. Not!" Starfire all but bellowed, causing all of them to jump. She jabbed an orange finger at Raven and growled, "A man stood there and called you a monster, Raven! A beast!" Comprehension dawned on the rest of her teammates' races. Beast Boy growled; his fists clenched tightly at his sides. Cyborg cracked his knuckles angrily while Robin grit his teeth. "How is that not important, my friend?! You have been…you have been treated like a…like a Zornian muck beetle!" Raven blinked.

"Okay…" She drawled. "I'm not even going to pretend to know what that is; but really, Starfire, it's okay. They were just words. I'm not bothered by it."

"Lie!" Starfire snapped. "I saw your face of hurt!" Raven pinched the bridge of her nose.

"Maybe I should rephrase then," she breathed through her nose in an exasperated sigh, "I am used to it." Starfire flinched back as if those very words had been a physical slap. The others looked just as equally injured. "He was tame compared to the Azar's advisors." Her statements didn't help anything because suddenly Starfire looked impossibly sad. Robin realized in that moment just what Raven had confessed.

Raven had been fourteen when she left Azarath. He closed his eyes. The advisors were the monks that raised her. His heart ached to think of all of the verbal abuse young Raven had been subjected to as the monks taught her. He couldn't get the image of child Raven—the one that Raven had reverted back to once she became her father's portal—out of his head. He recalled how scared she had been when he had found her and his stomach clenched at the thought of her cowering in front of these men as they tore into her. He opened his eyes and looked toward the woman that child had become. He swallowed and clenched his fists. He wanted to hug her, but he knew that she wouldn't accept such an action.

"You may be used to it, Raven, but we are not." She sighed.

"You…" Raven turned and looked over her shoulder as she heard Beast Boy's familiar voice. He was looking at her with impossibly sad, concerned green eyes. Her heart flopped around in her chest at the look. "You know you aren't any of those things right, Rae?" He questioned, leaping easily over the couch to stand in front of her.

"I know," Raven said with a small smile. The truth was she did now, but there was a time that she didn't. With the help and care of her team, she found that her confidence. Their faith in her goodness caused her to see a little in herself. She wasn't evil. She wasn't even close.

Beast Boy smiled, "Good."

"And the next time some old guy tries to tell you that you are, come find us," Cyborg said, punching his fist.

"We'll set him straight." Robin added with a nod.

"I think Starfire's got it covered," Raven pointed out with a small smirk. The Tamarian blushed but showed no signs of remorse. She knew there would be no backlash from the friends; she knew that the Titans would be able to handle whatever backlash that happened from the media.

No matter how different they all were, they were always safe from harsh judgement here. They were family and no matter what happened, they always would be.


End file.
